New call for applications

Deadline ends: Who will be rector after election chaos?

Students are hoping for orderly procedures for the second tender.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

When will an elected leader finally take the rector's chair again? After months of wrangling between the Senate and the University Council, the candidates are now known. What has happened so far, how the image is suffering.

Teaching is going well, students are showing up for exams. University life as usual, you might think. But for months now, a state of emergency has prevailed at the top of the university with around 18,000 students and 2,800 employees. It is feared that the posse surrounding the head position is also one of the reasons for the almost seven percent drop in new enrolments last fall. Fewer students also means a smaller budget. Not only academic circles are shaking their heads and talking about massive damage to the university's image.

(Bild: Krone Kreativ)

A look back shows the chaos: after legally disputed proposals for two professorships by the Senate in the first call for applications, complaints and a semester start without a rector in the autumn, the processes were halted at the end of December 2023.

Ex-Rector Lehnert polarized
A sticking point from the start: Former Rector Hendrik Lehnert, who can certainly boast successes such as more speed in the internationalization of the university, cultivated a controversial leadership style. The Senate meetings developed into a mud-slinging battle between his opponents and supporters. His name eventually disappeared from the list of candidates.

The University Council decided unanimously in favor of a new announcement after only Viola Heutger, former rector at the University of Aruba in the Caribbean, was still in the running. "An end has been put to the drama," according to the university council. Temporarily, a four-person team led by Vice Martin Weichbold took the helm. The complete standstill has at least been prevented, according to even the biggest critics of the events.

Public hearings to take place in May
After the new application deadline, the company is keeping quiet for the time being: Candidates will only be communicated when the public hearing is announced, according to Marianne Schulze, Chair of the University Council. The circle of those informed should not become too large. The Senate will hold a review before May 21 and 22.

There is already talk that Lehnert's supporters will be disappointed. The physician (70) has decided that he no longer wants to return to Salzburg. Viola Heutger is unperturbed by the events: she also wants to come to the Salzach at the second attempt. The timetable, which can no longer be described as ambitious: The name should be finalized in early summer.